A Cardinal Sin

Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and pedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia. It is true. That is the problem.

This, unbelievably, is the recent declaration of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State — in other words, the Catholic church’s top diplomat with regards to the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Yet less diplomatic, more self-serving, less righteous words have rarely been spoken.

This is the same man who, in 2002, said new internal church norms he completed to help bishops deal with abusers would not compel them to hand over molesters to the police.

I wonder what he "was told recently" about heterosexual pedophiles - by far the majority of priestly pedophilia.
hat tip Daily Kos

Church rules on swine flu II

I mentioned a few days ago that the Catholic Church has changed some of its practices due to the swine flu disease.

I was advised by a reliable source that parishoners did not take the communion wine today. But the priest did. There was no "sign of peace" apart from the "smile" of peace. There was no touching of holy water.

But my source did witness a couple of old ladies kissing each other after one of the services.

But it does beg the question:If holy water really is holy, and the wine is transubstantiated, as per Catholic teaching, surely the teaching of the church would conclude that Gods holiness is more powerful than swine flu - or any illness, and such a stance is not warranted?

Obviously not. Could it be that perhaps God is powerful but holy water and communion wine is just like any other wine that is not blessed. Like the glass of water I`ll be having with lunch today.

Vile and evil

It is absolutely outrageous that the Catholic Church thinks those who allowed a nine-year old Brazilian girl to have an abortion to save her life are committing a greater sin than the man who impregnated her. It is vile that the Church thinks that it is fine to excommunicate the girl’s mother who wanted to save her young daughters life - but not excommunicate the girls stepfather who impregnated and abused her for years.

Instead the Church wants to prosecute the mother for securing the abortion and excommunicate the doctors for administering it.

Rape is against the law in Brazil, but abortion is permitted in cases of rape where the mother’s life is at risk. The church says that the law of God is above any human law, meaning that abortion as a result of rape is worse than rape and serial sexual abuse itself. Why? Because the Catechism of the Church says that sexual misconduct is not in the list of “grave personal sins”. Instead it is merely a heinous crime.

[update: but apparently it is a grave personal sin to take communion after not repenting for a sin like sexual abuse, meaning that a person who raped is committing a bigger sin akin to abortion merely by taking communion without repenting.]

The stance by Catholic leaders has nothing to do with God’s law or the teachings of Jesus at all. As a Christian I find the position of the church – ie: that the girl had less of a right to live than her unborn child – sickening, intolerable, and absolutely repulsive. I find it disgusting that church leaders think that it is fine to murder a girl while delivering her babies only for these babies to grow up orphans if they are delivered alive. Bishops who kick you out of the church for allowing an abortion that will save a life, but move you to the next parish if you are a rapist priest are fit only for the pit of hell.

While I'd like to know what Catholic readers think of the Church’s position on this, I'm sure there are Catholics leaders in this country who disagree with stance taken by their fellow clergyman, while still remaining pro-life - as all Catholics should.